Nihilism The Bastard Son of Hedonism

Welcome back!

I hope the one-month hiatus between issues has treated you all well.

It has had its highs and lows for me, but such is life. Our previous issue delved into the life of Aurelius and Stoicism as a philosophy. In this issue, I’d like to discuss some popular counterparts. These counterparts are Nihilism and Hedonism, two philosophies seemingly prevalent in the modern era, especially in the media.

I enjoyed spending this past Independence Day in the pastures of Kentucky with some colleagues. While out there, we watched many popular shows, including The Boys and Rick and Morty.

Sitting there watching with mild disgust, I realized many of these shows share a similarity. They all have the same recurring theme: hopelessness. Why is it that in all popular forms of media, there is an incredibly potent form of hopelessness present? It’s almost as if we are being programmed to become hollow, disenfranchised creatures; surely the powers that govern would not want us to feel hopeless?

Although I could use this to pivot to an Alex Jones-esc aside on how Hollywood is brainwashing all of us to lick the boots of authority, I promised I wouldn’t make this newsletter political.

Nihilism is the real reason this theme of hopelessness is so prevalent. Nihilism is the belief that life is meaningless. Nothing holds meaning. This is then used to introduce the sentiment that nothing is real. We are all to live lives of extreme skepticism; watchful eyes meant to notice all the ways in which others may undercut or take advantage of us. No one is to be trusted; anyone only does anything to seek “gain” or an inherent advantage.

This rationale can be beneficial for an investment banker on Wall Street. In the shark-infested waters of cutthroat business, everyone is looking to edge out the competition. Everyone is looking to profit and win, and where there are winners, there must be losers.

However, to live everyday life as a Nihilist sounds awful. If anyone does anything nice, your first thought is, “They must do it for favor or gain.” To always be on the defensive end just because of the unlikely chance that someone will make a shmuck out of you.

I’ve seen people practice nihilism without knowing it and do some “real” petty things. (Pun Intended)

“They didn’t text me first; I will never speak to them again.”

“They didn’t approach me at the party, so I won’t approach them.”

“They didn’t invite me to hang out, unfriended.”

Nihilism accepts the “reality” (pun not intended) that much of life is out of your control. So, to make some sense of it all, nothing has meaning, and nothing you do matters. After such vigorous vigilance, life becomes tiresome, and so nihilists do the same thing. Give up. Nothing has meaning, so why bother?

Although Stoicism preaches the same fundamental truth, its approach is quite different: “It’s up to you!” As Aurelius famously says. The fact of wicked intent from all walks of life should be inconsequential to you. You must be the pillar of kindness, the source of positivity, to cleave through the wretched thorns of degeneracy.

“It’s up to you!”

No, you cannot control the outcome of every particle in existence, but you can control what lies before you. You can’t make a difference in the grand equation of the universe, but by changing your perspective and your own actions, you can change the rhythm of your world.

Suddenly, with this shift in perspective, these scenarios become laughable in terms of significance. So? What if you were ignored? It won’t stop you from doing what you want to do.

Much of nihilism is predicated on the belief that people will do whatever they can to profit or gain an advantage over one another. There is an inherent lust and insatiable hunger for all things material. The height of the human experience is a life of indulgence, decadence, and hedonism.

Nihilism, the belief in nothing, is the natural consequence of a society plagued with hedonism. It is the unwanted child born out of hedonism, the bastard son.

Especially within the collegiate setting, you’ll see many of our peers filling this unfillable void with sex, alcohol, and drugs. Infidelity and divorce rates are at an all-time high. The opiate epidemic is so far gone that students are encouraged to carry Narcan!

It extends further out to food and media consumption.

The obesity epidemic is at an all-time high in our nation, and Semaglutides like Ozempic are becoming readily available to combat it, providing no consequences to a poor diet (in the short term).

The term “brain rot” is casually thrown around when numerous studies indicate that social media has fried our dopamine receptors. To test this, I put my phone in a lock box; I COULDN’T LAST AN HOUR!

Suffice it to say, we must be the change in our lives. It will take significant effort, but in the end, I’m hopeful that it will be for the better.

That’s what Stoicism shills; that’s what it “gets off on.” Hope.

In a world plagued with diseases of the mind, hope is all we have, men. Hope is all we have.

If you enjoyed this issue, be sure to let me know. If there are specific topics you would like me to cover, don’t hesitate to reach out by email at lumiosed@gmail.com

I hope to write to you all again soon, and remember, “It’s up to you!” -Emperor Marcus Aurelius.